Multi-milliwatt mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a suspended core chalcogenide fiber

A low-loss suspended core As38Se62 fiber with core diameter of 4.5 mu m and a zero-dispersion wavelength of 3.5 mu m was used for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. The dispersion of the fiber was measured from 2.9 to 4.2 mu m and was in good correspondence with the calculated dispersion. An optical parametric amplifier delivering 320 fs pulses with a peak power of 14.8 kW at a repetition rate of 21 MHz was used to pump 18 cm of suspended core fiber at different wavelengths from 3.3 to 4.7 mu m. By pumping at 4.4 mu m with a peak power of 5.2 kW coupled to the fiber a supercontinuum spanning from 1.7 to 7.5 mu m with an average output power of 15.6 mW and an average power >5.0 mu m of 4.7 mW was obtained. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America